Express & Star

Relief as mum Jessica to fly home after ten hours of life-changing surgery

A mother-of-two will fly home from the USA next week after a successful life-changing operation.

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Jessica Kill, from Streetly, who has a rare genetic disorder needed to raise £180,000 from crowd-funding in a matter of months in a last ditch attempt to pay for her surgery, which was only available in the US.

The 38-year-old, mother to sons Finley, eight, and Louis, 16, needed urgent treatment before she was left paralysed.

Mrs Kill told the Express & Star that she would back in the UK 'all being well' by next week but was unable to talk due to being 'extremely fatigued'.

Her father, Richard Kill, said his daughter is now on the mend.

"I spoke to her on Thursday and she is sounding much better, he said.

"It hasn't been plain sailing though. She has had a very tough time of it over the last week or so because a certain medication she was taking caused her to have severe nausea which in turn drastically reduced the effect of the pain relief.

"She went through a rocky patch a few days ago, that has all been sorted now.

"The good news is that she saw the surgeon and he is extremely pleased. So pleased that she can come home at anytime."

"I am waiting to hear from Thomas Cook and trying to get flights for her to return home moved to Tuesday next week.

"She will be getting a lot of rest and it will be a good few months before she returns to work. She will probably have to go for private therapy in London.

"The whole thing is a relief to the whole family. It has been an extremely stressful year for everyone involved.

"She's still in discomfort but the fact that her speech has got back to normal and her swallowing is okay again is amazing.

"She will have to wear a neck brace for a few months while it heals but things are going really well."

Jessica's operation lasted ten hours in total, with two hours preparation and eight hours of operating.

The surgery involved putting two metal screws in her neck to prevent any further deterioration.

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